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Albania becomes first country to appoint AI as government minister
Diella was first launched in January as a virtual assistant on Albania’s e-Albania platform.
Diella was first launched in January as a virtual assistant on Albania’s e-Albania platform.
Albania has become the first country in the world to appoint an artificial intelligence system as a government minister. The AI-powered digital assistant, named Diella—meaning “sun” in Albanian—has been given responsibility for public procurement with the declared aim of eliminating corruption.
Prime Minister Edi Rama publicly announced the appointment this week. He promised that with her oversight, Albania would become “a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption.”
Diella was first launched in January as a virtual assistant on Albania’s e-Albania platform, where she helped citizens access documents and services. Styled in traditional Albanian attire, the AI assistant has already processed 36,600 digital documents and delivered nearly 1,000 services through voice commands and electronic stamps.
Her remit is now being expanded to include evaluating and awarding public tenders, a process long criticised as a breeding ground for corruption in Albania. Responsibilities once handled by human officials will be transferred to the AI in a phased manner, with the government claiming this will ensure transparency and efficiency in public spending.
Public procurement scandals have plagued Albania for years, with experts identifying the country as a hub for money laundering linked to drug and weapons trafficking. Corruption has reached senior levels of government and remains a major obstacle to Albania’s ambition of joining the European Union by 2030.
While the government has presented Diella’s appointment as a bold anti-graft measure, it has not outlined the oversight mechanisms or safeguards that will govern the AI minister’s decisions. This omission has fuelled scepticism among citizens.
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